


That Didn't Stop You Before

by CuriousThimble



Series: Fictober 2020 [3]
Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Mistreatment of Mages, Other, Solitary Confinement, TW: Mention of Abuse, tw: mention of rape
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-03
Updated: 2020-10-03
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:55:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26793250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CuriousThimble/pseuds/CuriousThimble
Summary: When the whispers return, Evette is determined to ignore them this time.
Series: Fictober 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1948270
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	That Didn't Stop You Before

Evette ignored the whispers the next time they came. She didn’t know how long it had been since Rutherford’s last shift in the dungeons, but she knew she’d slept once and had been given food and a bucket of clean water twice. Whoever had brought her food last time had told her that as long as she stayed quiet and didn’t try anything stupid they wouldn’t put chains on her.

Anders had told her about the chains, and she’d shuddered at even the mention of them.

“Amell.” The whisper came on the heels of a soft clatter of armor— she assumed he’d sat beside the crack in the wall that allowed sound to travel in and out of the enchanted room.

_ Go away, _ she thought, clutching her knees to her chest and closing her eyes. If she pretended that he wasn’t real he’d go away.

“Evette, I know you hear me.”

_ I do not. _

“And I know you’re alive because Hern told me he brought you water earlier. Don’t you want to know why you’re here?”

_ It won’t matter. _

She heard a sigh and hoped it meant he’d given up, but inside there was a faint scratching sound. “I guess I’ll just file at this hole, then. Probably make it bigger.”

“What are you doing?” she hissed in a panic. “I’ll get into more trouble if you break the enchantment!”

“So you  _ can _ hear me,” he chuckled.

“Are you trying to get me killed?”

“No, I just want to talk.”

“Well, you’re going to get me into more trouble.”

Another chuckle. “That didn’t stop you from talking to me before.”

She folded her arms with a sniff, feeling cold begin to radiate from her as her anxiety increased. Soon the room would have a thin layer of ice; if he kept on she’d have to ask to be drained just so she didn’t turn the little cell into a blizzard.

“Stop it.”

“Talk to me.”

_ You are so annoying, _ she thought.  _ I can’t believe I ever thought you were cute. _ “Keep your voice down!”

“I’m the only one down here. How long have you been here?”

Evette rolled her eyes. “Next you’ll want to know my favorite color and if I’ve ever had a cat.”

“Well?”

“Why are you a Templar?”

“I’ve always wanted to be one,” he says. “Ever since I was a child.”

“Have a thing for torturing mages, do you?” she sneered.

“What? I haven’t tortured you!”

“Really?” she asked in an icy tone. “I’m locked in a dark, cold cell  _ for no reason _ , given only the barest of rations twice a day, and you’ve made it clear that I have to talk to you whether I like it or not. That’s certainly a good start to torture.”

There was a long moment of silence and Evette was starting to think he’d managed to get up and walk away without making any noise. “I...I didn’t think of it that way.”

“Why would you?” she demanded. “You Templars do whatever you want to us and don’t think anything of it!”

“You are here for a reason,” he said softly. 

Evette’s blood froze and she was suddenly dizzy in the darkness. “What?” The word leaked out of her on a slow breath.

“Sedition,” he said, his voice flat. “I’m actually supposed to be questioning you about it now.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I…” His voice wavered and she heard a small movement from his armor. “I’ve wanted to talk to you a while,” he admits. “Ever since we came across you the night those two escaped. But… you’re always so—”

“Cold?” she offers with a brittle laugh. “Standoffish?”

“Your words, not mine.”

“I’m an ice mage, they’re the right words. Who turned me in?”

“I don’t know.”

The way he said it, too quick and firm, told her it was a lie. “How exactly am I supposed to spread sedition if I’m standoffish and alone?”

“Your friends. The two who escaped.”

_ Anders and Karl. That must be who they really want. _ “Escape is not sedition.”

“That’s all I know, Evette.”

“What are you supposed to ask me?”

Another silence, and this time the answer comes through a clenched jaw. “Don’t ask me that.”

They sat quietly for a long while; time meant nothing to Evette here and Rutherford had a long shift ahead of them. “Why did you want to talk to me?” she asked finally, picking at a stiff spot on her robes and doing her best not to wonder what caused it.

“I— ah…” His nervous chuckle confuses her.

“Well?”

“I don’t have many friends, and—”

“You wanted me to be your  _ friend?  _ We can’t be friends, Rutherford.”

“Would you call me Cullen?”

“No.”

“What do you mean, we can’t be friends?”

“You’re literally my jailor,” she reminded him, gesturing to the cell around her even though she couldn’t even see her own hand. “And you’re a Templar. Have you seen the things they do to us? You could decide one day to rape or beat me for fun. I can’t trust you not to tell on me to other Templars—”

“So you  _ are  _ guilty of something.”

Evette bit her lip. “Only of being a mage.”


End file.
